I didn’t know much about Search Engine Optimiation (SEO) until very recently. I guess I figured out the gist of its meaning through context and because its title pretty much describes what it does. Once you know that, Search Engine Optimization must mean optimizing where and when your site comes up when people “Google” or “Bing” the relevant subject. More or less, an internet version of the age-old desire for popularity. But how, exactly, do you achieve this? How does a search engine decide what is most relevant and thus more popular?
I realized the importance of Search Engine Optimization about 3 weeks ago when working to create copy material for my husband’s company website. I originally believed that due to the unique niche his company fills in the marketplace, the importance of his website would be a mere web presence – an internet business card, if you will.
It was not until last week while working with a new customer that I remembered to ask, “Where did you find out about our company?” His response, “The internet.” I should have known. After all, who uses the Yellow Pages anymore? And if he was referred by another client, he surely would have said so right off the bat. I was honestly shocked that he found our company website without knowing the name firsthand. We haven’t worked much on Search Engine Optimization for the page, and honestly, the content has not been updated in a few years (thus, my work on the site’s copy material). I realized that he must have spent some time going through pages and finding a whole bunch of sites that weren’t relevant to his needs before he finally found us. We were lucky. We could have lost a potential new customer due to our website’s lack of relevance amongst search engines. Moral of the Story: It is not enough to just have a website – people need to be able to find it!